Former Indiana linebacker Chris Covington is headed to the NFL.
The Dallas Cowboys Saturday afternoon chose Covington in the 6th round with the 193rd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the 19th pick in the sixth round.
“Chris Covington through the process has been moving up draft boards,” ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. “There was a time at the beginning of the year where you though he’d go undrafted. He’s an athletic kid, he’s obviously got the ability to get into the backfield and wreak some havoc. He was a guy that through the last two months you kept hearing his name.
“People feel like he’s getting better and the best football is still ahead of him.”
Covington became the first IU linebacker to be drafted since 1988 when Van Waiters was chosen in the third round with the 77th overall pick by the Cleveland Browns. It marks the third time in five years the Hoosiers have had multiple selections in the draft.
Covington began his career at quarterback and remained at that position until suffering an ACL injury at Iowa during his freshman season in 2014. Following his rehabilitation, the coaching staff moved him to linebacker.
Over his next three seasons at linebacker, Covington started 13 times and played in 33 games. He made 118 tackles, 70 solo, five sacks (29 yards), 15 tackles for loss (50 yards), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, six quarterback hurries and five pass breakups.
In his final season as a Hoosier, he registered 85 tackles (third on the team, tied for 17th in the Big Ten) with 50 solo (third, 16th) and 12 for loss (second, tied for 13th), three sacks, one fumble recovery, five pass breakups (tied for third) and five quarterback hurries (second) and started in all 12 games. His performance earned him honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition from coaches and media as well as IU's Defensive Player of the Year award.
At the combine, Covington ran the 40-yard dash time in 4.78 seconds and recorded 23 bench press reps of 225 pounds. His bench press performance tied for fifth-most reps among 25 participating linebackers.
At Indiana's Pro Day, he recorded a 34.5-inch vertical, a 9-foot, 8-inch broad jump, 4.28 seconds in the pro agility drill, 7.02 seconds in the 3-cone drill and 11.65 seconds in the 60-yard shuttle. His vertical would have ranked 13th among participating linebackers at the combine, while his 3 cone drill time would have ranked ninth.
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